Former Taxi Association President Calls Out Unfair Election Process

St Kitts and Nevis (WINN): The former president of the Liamuiga Taxi Association Andrew "Talbo" Bass spoke to WINN FM about reports of a controversial meeting of the Liamuiga Taxi Association in which some members were locked out of an election for a new executive.

Andrew Bass: “Some members were locked out, we had police, a number of police officers at the scene and the police officers were preventing the members from going in, saying if their name is not on a list they cannot enter the room, and that is unconstitutional, in fact, that is not police duty to say who is supposed to go in a meeting or not. The meeting is held for the Liamuiga Taxi Association members, and he was preventing members, the police were preventing members from going into the room.

WINN FM: “Did they have a reason, what was their reason for doing that?

Bass: “Well the President said according to the constitution, if a member does not pay for three months, they are unfinancial, but the constitution did not say the member cannot come and pay their dues, members have been trying to pay since December, January and they have been refusing the members’ money. But I am saying, how can you hold that against the members and refuse to let them take part, even though they are willing to pay, even though they walk with their money to pay whatever they owe? They are refusing them saying that the constitution says they are unfinancial, but there is about six or eight other areas of the constitution which was breached by the executive. So how it is okay for them to breach six to eight areas of the constitution, but penalize the members for one area of the constitution, that can be right? That cannot be right? In fact, according the executive is not legitimate because the executive was put in place the 12th of November 2015, the Constitution say that the executive shall retire annually.

Since 2015 we have not had a meeting since last night, and this is May 2017 which means the executive’s term should have ended last year November, so they have no right according to the constitution to even say that they are governing us, much less to say they are preventing members from voting, the same constitution. The constitution says that we should have audited accounts annually, which means every, it is three years we have not had audited accounts, that’s another breach by the executive. The constitution says we should have general meeting at least once per quarter, we have not had a general meeting for a year and six months, that’s another breach of the constitution. The constitution says, because members have been agitating, asking for meetings, calling for meetings, nothing happening, the constitution provides that if members want an extraordinary general meeting, you have to have thirteen members signing a requisition requesting a meeting. We had eighteen members sign the letter, requesting a meeting, and the president refuse to accept the letter. The vice president accepted one; the secretary accepted one, the president refused his and we have no meeting. I mean this is like dictatorship. So how can you breach the constitution in all of those areas but yet you want to victimize the members for one section of the constitution, can’t be right.”

WINN FM: “So who is the president, and what were the results of the last election that was held last night?”

Bass: “The result was that we did not contest the elections because he refused to allow forty-something of the members from entering the room; he had the police there refusing the members from going in, so I was supposed to contest the elections against him, and I decide if these forty-five members can’t go in, I am not going in to contest an election.”